Istanbul Airport

✅ Trip Verified | I had the most horrible experience of my life at this airport. The staff, especially at the information desk, which is absurd, do not know English and cannot offer any help at all! I lost my iPhone which had a lot of important things on it, I was upset and they had no security that could speak English or that could help me! I could not believe that the information desk offered no help. The staff were rude and had no manners in any sense. The only staff that helped me was the security in Versace, even they were surprised in the lack of customer service and etiquette of the staff. I was very overwhelmed frorm losing my phone, and had no one to turn to and to ask for help. I still do not know what has happened to my phone, and will never have a transit in this airport again, and recommend others to transit elsewhere, perhaps Doha.

✅ Trip Verified | My connection was - 1:50 hours. Plane landed on time. I think the taxi to gate was about 10 minutes. Took another 7 minutes to deplane as I took the advice of this forum and checked in exactly 24 hours before the flight and could get 5 rows from the front of economy. It then took around 10 minutes to get from B9 to the security check via the longer way (not using the short connection), 5 minutes to do security and another 7 minutes to get to A3. This was done with a sleepy 6 years old girl and a slightly more awake 9 years old boy. We got to the gate 1:20 before the flight departed, about 45 minutes before boarding started, leaving enough time for my kids to start fighting. Airport was new, clean, including the bathrooms with electronically activated faucets. The only negative is that the gate area is very small. There were no available seats in a3 and a2b was spilling outside, partially blocking the main way.

✅ Trip Verified | My wife and two daughters were asked to provide a paper copy or VEVO statement of their Australian visas as we were travelling from Odessa via Istanbul to Kuala Lumpur to Perth. Turkish airlines provided the flights from Odessa to ISA and then onto KL. Malaysia airlines took us into Australia. They are Ukrainian citizens with an Australian permanent residency visa. We were only in transit at Istanbul airport, we were very disappointed and annoyed to be asked for the visas when their visas have nothing to do with Turkey and Turkish airlines, Malaysia airlines, who flew us into Australia did not even ask for the visas. What right does the airport have to ask for these visas, which are electronic! As the airport does not provide free Wi-Fi, like most other airports do, I could not even consider using VEVO. I stated to the persons asking for the visas as we were checking in, that the visas are electronic and we have no paper copies and no Wi-Fi- so no VEVO, let me speak to someone of authority otherwise I suggest you let us board the aircraft, they said "it's okay, proceed through" My question I have, what right does the airport have to ask a passenger in transit for their visa for another country, a country which their airline does not take the passenger to? Regards

Not Verified | The staff of Istanbul Airport treat you like you are a prisoner. They act like the last thing they want to do is help you. Some even get mad when you ask them something. Dont go there.

Not Verified | Worst airport experience ever. The staff is so rude and denigrating you will wish you paid more to avoid the experience. To start with the airport is huge and although that may seem a good thing soon one starts realizing that walking 30 minutes hike with kids or luggage is not a fun experience. This airport was build to impress not to be functional and it isn't. There is no way to reach your transfer flight in less than 2-3 hours, impossible I tell you. and if you are going to Canada, UK or US you got to start planning for 4 hours minimum. The airport is tiring and super expensive, a simple 200 ml water bottle will set you back 3.5 euros and its not easy to buy after security. Security is in layers, you may have to go thru more than 3 different security personnel at 3 different stages. You may think is design to make you lose your flight. The staff deserve a dedicated review web page. Rude does not begin to describe them. This has been for my wife and small kids a nightmare trip with Turkish airlines, to the point that my wife and I made the promise to never ever go back to this airport no matter how attractive the offer. Once we landed, none of the services was there, imagine 36 minutes in a bus after the flight - of course you miss your flight connection, and then you are left alone in an airport the size of 10 football fields walking cause no trams no nothing, asking people cause all the signs are directing you to nowhere. No one speaks English nor even a broken one. Horrible. Please take another route, avoid this airport. You will see other sites that have 4 and 5 stars reviews, all those reviews are fake - they have to be.

✅ Trip Verified | I have traveled through the new Istanbul airport and i would definitely say that this is a massive airport. Be ready to walk a lot as this is a very large airport. - The staff are not good in English so be prepared to face a challenging situation if you have to talk to them. There are no water fountains on the airport so every time you are thirsty, you have to buy water. Some food outlets which i have visited on the airport (burger king and popeyes) only offers a limited choices of food and they don't offer the full menu. If you are travelling to and from Istanbul city, allow around 2 hours of travel to or from the city because the city gets too much crowded during rush hours. The carts on the airport are charged and you have to pay by credit card or cash (In Turkish Liras). The wi-fi is though free but the connection strength was very weak and also, you have to download the airport's app to use it. There are multiple smoking areas.

Not Verified | The airport is quite nice and is really extremely big. That’s not the problem, my problem is with the staff working mainly at food or coffee shops. These staff are mostly non-English speakers or very poor English speaking staff. They have probably never heard of customer service and efficiency! I have never seen such rude and unprofessional restaurant or coffee shop staff. The management really has to teach them how to show respect to the customers and how to give them the best service in an efficient manner.

Not Verified | New Istanbul airport is still under construction so it can be noisy and seem a little empty. Walking distance between gates very long, it took me 15 minutes almost running to get from gate B to gate F. There is no problem with transit, everything easy and clear. Enough seats on gates, nap areas. Problematic wifi access, I didnt notice drinking water station.

Not Verified | I have transited through Istanbul airport, the new one, twice during my trip to Spain. The airport is really huge and well built. But apart from the queuing time for security check during transit, it has used its massiveness in a positive way. As so many passengers pass through this airport, delays during security check is quite understandable. But the airport is really clean and you can feel that they have gone an extra mile about cleanliness. The duty free is awesome, you can get a flavour of Turkey alongside all the shiny things people love to buy in airports. They have quite a few options of fried chicken and pizza in the food court as well which is situated at the top floor, but my expectation was a bit high on this. The airport has more than enough cafes and bars to take care of your appetite. They also have place for Turkish foods and sweets (kebabs and stuffs). It's a separate place than the food court and a bit hidden. But if you can't find it, don't shy away from asking "How may I help you" people about it. Airport stuffs are really helpful and they were almost every corner. They were helpful about everything except flight rescheduling. I suppose they didn't have much information about that. This airport has a lot of places for sitting or sleeping. So, I wouldn't mind taking a good 3-4 hours' layover here. The only problem I faced some of the food places (only a few though) don't accept anything except Turkish Lira and the only currency exchange that I could find, were giving very bad exchange rates. Overall I'm quite impressed by the new Istanbul airport. Compared to what they had a year ago, it is great to say the least.

✅ Trip Verified | Remarkably spacious airport with a range of shops and eateries. Limited seats. However, requires a fair amount of walking from security check-in to departure gates. A positive experience at security. I use an insulin pump for my diabetes and the staff were most understanding and professional. The passport checking is strict. My EU passport was checked 5 times at the check-in desk and then at the departure lounge. One hour free wifi available.